Reading for the Road:
Our 5 Favourite Books
About Ireland
At The Slow Road we answer to many names (wanderers, bon vivants, students of life) but first and foremost, we’re a group of dedicated travellers.
That’s why we love compiling reading lists that include those books—from novels to memoirs, and everything in between—that have really opened up our favourite regions.
In this post we’ll round up five of our favourite books about the Emerald Isle, a country that knows a thing or two about fine writing—no other country boasts as many Nobel Laureates for literature!
Five of The Best Books About Ireland
Electric Light
By Seamus Heaney
This collection of poetry mentions some of our favourite places (and a few of our friends!) in western Ireland.
Connemara: A Little Gaelic Kingdom
By Tim Robinson
Written by one of our friends (and an Oxford Scholar to boot!) who has lived in the small town of Roundstone for a number of years writing a stream-of-consciousness series of essays and vignettes on the Irish condition. Very well written and a joy to read.
Explore the Land
of Saints and Scholars
On our Ireland Biking trip, authenticity abounds. Grab a pint and hold on!
DETAILED ITINERARYVanishing Ireland: Recollections of Our Changing Times
By James Fennell and Turtle Bunbury
An amazing collection of stories and characters from the real Ireland. The book includes chapters about some of the Gilies, a family we know from Delphi Lodge as well as a few farmers we meet on our trips!
The Aran Islands 
By J.M. Synge, Introduction by Tim Robinson
A much loved turn-of-the-century account of the islands (as contrasted with mainland Ireland), drenched in the Celtic soul of the Irish.
Angela’s Ashes
By Frank McCourt
The Pulitzer Prize-winning memoir of an Irish childhood spent in abject poverty in the slums of Limerick, told with enormous wit, grace and skill.
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